Columns

Do you ever run into people whom you like instantly? It happens often in our case.

We met Tony and Elizabeth Riome last Tuesday morning. They are from Scotland, both former air traffic controllers in Norway. It was our daughter-in-law, Connie Trujillo, who took the first step at New Mexico Hospitality 101. As she left the El Fidel Monday, Connie noticed an elderly couple toting suitcases. They were asking the waiter if, where and whether they could hire a taxi.

A taxi in Las Vegas? Connie instead offered the couple a ride to their hotel.

ver experience instant fusion with another human being? I recently did. I’m helping promote the Fifth Meadow City Music Festival coming up at the end of September. More than 20 groups will perform at our wonderful Plaza Park, the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel and JC’s New York Pizza.

“Honey, call 911. My flight’s been hijacked. I know we’re all going to die. I’m not giving up. We’re getting ready to do something. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you honey.” These were the words spoken by 38-year-old Tom Burnett 3,000 feet in the air over the skies of Pennsylvania on the morning of Sept. 11, 15 years ago to his wife Deena who was having breakfast at home in California.

For more than three years now, I’ve been collecting news out of small towns around New Mexico. I launched the Community News Exchange, or CNEx, as a news-sharing service in May 2013 and have been reading many of New Mexico’s smallest newspapers (either online or in hard copies mailed to me) ever since.

Man oh, man, did I ever have a rough day! Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if I ever have a day like today. You see, Monday, Labor Day was a holiday. I went to the office to do some of Tuesday’s work on Monday, and there was no one available to man the office.

Perhaps some 30 years ago, none of the above would have caused a ripple. Today, it seems, there are many who might argue that using all those masculine terms is offensive and sexist. That makes it difficult to say or write anything.

The people of Mora County have long awaited completion of the Mora County Complex. While the project has had a complicated history, we are close to breaking ground. The Mora County Commission has made completion of the project a top priority for the county and has dedicated significant resources to get the project moving after years of being stalled.

We have made tremendous progress, but we will need the support of community members to get this project across the finish line. The following is an update on our progress to date:

On a recent trip to Chicago with my family I was sitting in a restaurant downtown and relaxing after finishing my meal. I decided to sit a while and enjoy watching the people walking by just on the outside of the large glass window. It never ceases to amaze me how uniquely made each one of us is.

The New York Times on preparing for the next major storm (Aug. 23):
Natural disasters that were once anomalous are becoming almost commonplace, and the country is clearly not prepared for them. Historic floods in Louisiana displaced thousands and led to the deaths of 17 people this month. Record-setting rain devastated parts of West Virginia in June and South Carolina in October.

Here we are, about 10 weeks from Election Day, a good time to assess the race for the presidency.

Hillary Clinton has been riding a solid lead in the polls for weeks now, since the party conventions in July, and that’s pushed Donald Trump to shake up his campaign staff and to stay on-script. The Clinton campaign machine is on full throttle, leaving Trump far behind in ground organization and money. It’s Hillary’s race to lose.